Vehicles parked in unshaded areas are exposed unprotected with respect to the direct sun light of the sun's rays. In certain cases, when the vehicle doors and windows are shut, the internal temperatures can build up to dangerously high levels resulting in danger to helpless persons, children, and animals, eg., pets left in such vehicles are subject to suffering heat stroke, dehydration, suffocation, and even death. Accordingly, most vehicle drivers try to park under a tree which offers shade tending to keep the temperature of the interior vehicle below that which can endanger any occupant.
The present invention provides a sun shade/shield which prevents the vehicle interior temperature from reaching dangerously high temperatures due to direct exposure to the sunlight such as would endanger persons or pets due to heat stroke, suffocation, etc.
Additionally while the sun shade/shield of this invention is installed on the roof of a vehicle, a safe, more comfortable environment is provided making the interior of the vehicle more comfortable even when the vehicle is not provided with air conditioning. Moreover, the sun shade/shield of the present invention places less of a demand on the vehicle air conditioning system of air conditioned vehicles provided therewith in that the seats, upholstery, and other vehicle part with which the driver and passengers come in contact upon entering will not require as extensive cooling when the vehicle is used after long periods of parking in unshaded areas.
Furthermore, the sun shade/shield panel of this invention requires only a few minutes or less to install and remove whereas those of the prior art require comparatively heavy frameworks, are cumbersome and some require attachment means that ruin the cosmetic appearance of the vehicles, and are therefore impractical.
Many attempts have been made in the prior art to provide acceptable sun shields or shades for cars.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,733,007 issued to S. M. Dahl is directed to a summer top for automobiles having a covering 31 which is stitched to a frame 10 which is in turn secured to a vehicle top 11. Covering 31 may be a flexible water-proofing material such as canvas.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,496,085 issued to A. C. Engelheart is directed to an auto sunshade having a canvas cover or canopy 15 arranged on a frame 14 on the top 12 of a vehicle. The frame 14 is preferably fabricated of aluminum and comprises a pair of elongated, longitudinally-extending, tubular, open-ended side braces 16 and 17 provided with bent front portions 18 and 19 inclined downwardly therefrom. The frame 14 and cover 15 are secured to the vehicle top using a pair of straps 45 extending around each of the side braces 16 and 17 along with hooks 46 on one end for engagement with the longitudinally extending rain spout or drip shield on the side of the vehicle. For adjusting the length of the strap 45, a buckle assembly 47 is provided. Cables 48 provided with clamps 50 connect the front angle bar 30 to the front fenders 13 of the vehicle for maintaining the frame on top of the vehicle. The cover 15 is provided with a plurality of cut-out portions 49 which are arranged so that the bent portions of the side braces 16 and 17 can project there through without tearing of the canvas cover 15.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,508,757 issued to O. A. Gray is directed to an automobile sun protector having a pair of socket members attached to the front and rear bumpers, respectively, of the automobile, a tubular upright member disposed in each of the sockets; rod slidably mounted in each of the tubular uprights; a T-shaped bracket secured to the upper end of each of said rods, the horizontal portion of said T-shaped bracket being dimeterically split above the vertical portion, said split portion being hingedly connected to each other and one of the split portions being hingedly secured to the vertical portion whereby all three segments of the T- bracket may be collapsed parallel to each other in a vertical plane. A supporting arm is inserted in each horizontal segment of each of the T-braces, and a shade is attached to the several of said supporting arms so as to be suspended above the automobile.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,608,942 issued to R. E. Smith is directed to a top insulator for motor vehicle bodies. The Smith top insulator has up-standing supports on the top of the body, a sheet-like cover on the supports spaced above the top and substantially co-extensive therewith. The cover has outlet openings arranged in staggered relation and distributed approximately throughout the area thereof, and forwardly directed deflector means beneath each of the openings for deflecting a current of air upwardly through the openings. The insulator body consists of a plate 16 formed of sheet metal. It is supported spaced above the top 15 by vacuum cups 12. The margins of the plate are secured to the vehicle body by elastic members 13.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,623,481 issued to S. Muciaccia et al is directed to a car protector or cover 11 for covering a part of the metallic body of a car constructed with flexible thermoplastic sheet material, elastic rubber-like bands or strips 15 cemented to the edges of the flexible sheet 11 of material and provided with a plurality of concavities or depressions 16 in its innerside forming suction cups for engagement with the car body part 13 and a spring clip under tension carried by said elastic strip and adapted to be attachably engaged to the car body part 13 to hold the sheet of material tightly thereon. Although a portion of this car protector is located on the roof of the car, there is no structure or disclosure in the Muciaccia et al patent of providing any benefit in reducing the internal temperatures of the vehicle upon exposure to sunlight.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,629,347 issued to H. P. Wittrien is directed to a heat protector roof construction for vehicles, particularly vehicles having a roof with sloping sides with rain gutters extending longitudinally along opposite edges. The Wittrien heat protector comprises a rigid metallic body portion having a contour generally similar to that of the vehicle roof so as to fit thereover between its rain gutters, and wherein the body portion has its leading edge formed to fit flush against the roof and portions of its sides formed to extend into the gutters and also having portions along its sides cut away to form air vents along its sides, above said gutters and between said portion that extend into said gutters, insulating material fastened to the under surface of the body portion, and means for releaseably attaching said body portion to said roof, there being a space between said roof and said insulating material when the body portion is attached to said roof.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,643,910 issued to G. A. Lyon is directed to a top shield 10 for automobiles in the form of a turtle-back-like configuration, constructed to overhangthe front windows 12a, the four side windows 12b and the rear window 12c of automobile 12. Front and rear securing means, adapted to be disposed between said roof panel and said shield, are provided to secure such shield in spaced relation to said roof panel. Baffle means, defined by said front securing means, serves to baffle air from beneath said shield upwardly, and mean defining an opening above and forwardly of the baffle means provides for air passage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,174,195 issued to J. P. Francis is directed to an adjustable automobile windshield awning designed to provide protection to the windshield area and a portion of the roof top from sun, rain, sleet, snow, or the formation of ice thereon and to so improve visibility for example when viewing outdoor movies at drive in theaters and other outdoor events, thus eliminating the continuous or on and off use of windshield wipers.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,876,245 issued to James I. Lowery is directed to an automobile sun and rain bonnet constituting basically a horizontal panel structure for disposition over and support from the roof portion of a vehicle, such as a passenger automobile. The panel structure serves both as a sun shield and a rain shield including front, rear and opposite side marginal portions for disposition along the corresponding marginal portions of the automobile roof portion. Each of the panel structure marginal portions defines an outwardly opening slot extending there along and an extension panel member which is shiftably disposed in each slot and extendible and retractable therein relative to the corresponding marginal portion of the panel structure. The panel structure consists of three layers or plies with the top ply being constructed of heat insulative material, the central ply comprising a plurality of side-by-side open ended tubular members and the lower ply comprising a thin sheet of material having poor heat transmitting properties. The tubes of the center ply extend longitudinally of the panel structure and the forward marginal edge of the upper ply includes an elongated radiant heat absorbing member extending therealong closely above the forward end of the tubes, whereby the radiant heat absorbing member may, by convection currents, generate a forward flow of cooling air through each of the tubes when the associated vehicle is at least substantially at a stand still.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,068,885 issued to Leon H. Berger is directed to a retractable heat shield for vehicles including a pair of end housings adapted to be detachably mounted adjacent the rear of a vehicle roof and a pair of telescopable members connected to each of such end housings to extend therefrom in generally parallel relation. A rod element is connected between the end housings and carries a shade element rollably thereon. A second pair of end housing are connected respectively to the other ends of the telescopable members and a transverse support rod is connected between the second pair of end housings. Hook elements are carried by the free edge of the shade element adapted to detachably mount the free end of the shade element on such support rod. Suction cups are carried by each of the end housings so that the heat shield can be removably mounted on the roof of a vehicle.